Untitled [two female nudes reclining before a door] 1955 - 1967

Curator: This drawing feels... wistful. Almost like catching a glimpse of a private moment, unposed. Editor: Precisely. What we’re viewing is an untitled piece by Richard Diebenkorn, created sometime between 1955 and 1967. The medium is straightforward – pencil on paper – but the intimacy it captures is quite complex. Curator: You know, those lines... They seem hesitant, like the artist is feeling his way around the form. Not in a clumsy way, more like he's searching for the right essence of the figures. It reminds me a bit of Matisse, but with a California coolness. Editor: A definite awareness of the artistic heritage there, and I'd agree on that cool detachment. I am interested in what the figures reveal about the female gaze in art in this period, which attempted to counteract male perspectives by presenting an alternative portrayal of women who appeared comfortable with each other and self-assured in their environments, despite still being rendered as objects of observation. Curator: Hmm, 'objects of observation'…I don't quite read it that way. There’s a tenderness, don't you think? Maybe it's their closed eyes and reclining poses. It’s suggestive, not confrontational. More quiet reverie than bold statement. Editor: But the very act of representing the nude female form always carries historical baggage. Whose gaze are they presented for? The lines, however delicate, still delineate boundaries of objectification even as the composition disrupts established norms. The relationship, if it exists, may even represent the sexual liberty that art permits artists the privilege to display more openly than in other professions. Curator: True. I see your point about the historical context, and I agree artmaking can permit artists a different playing field than other aspects of society. It also hints at a longing. It feels unfinished, like a question mark hovering between the figures. The drawing isn't complete or resolved, is it? It remains beautifully…vulnerable. Editor: Yes, and vulnerability within the confines of power and representation - there's so much to unpack! Thanks, this has altered my appreciation of it!